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Mission Statement: Wake Forest University Department of Anthropology
The WFU Department of Anthropology promotes understanding and appreciation of human cultural and biological diversity. Through academic courses, scholarly and applied research, and public service, the Department provides the Wake Forest community with the tools and knowledge necessary for global citizenship. Composed of scholars representing all sub-fields of anthropology, the Department serves as the premier academic and practical resource for multicultural awareness and education in the University and Winston-Salem communities, enhancing the University’s commitment to Pro Humanitate.
Anthropology
“Anthropology”–from the Greek anthropos (“human”) and logia (“science”)–is the scientific study of humankind, from its beginnings millions of years ago to the present day. Its subject matter is both exotic (initiation rites of the Ganda of Uganda) and commonplace (anatomy of the human hand). Its focus is both sweeping and microscopic. Anthropologists may study the environmental impact of a new industry, the folklore of West Virginia, primate disease patterns, prehistoric cultures in North Carolina, or secret societies.
A common thread links these vastly different projects. The common goal is to advance knowledge of who we are and how we came to be that way. Because the subject matter of anthropology is so broad, an undergraduate major in anthropology is part of a broad liberal arts background for students interested in any career, including law, environmental studies, government, business, international relations, medicine, and in just being a well-educated citizen.
With the current intensity of global actions and interactions and the increasing cultural diversity of our own society, anthropology becomes even more relevant to our lives. In these times of narrow specialization, anthropological study is refreshingly broad. Anthropology is traditionally divided into four subfields: linguistic anthropology, archaeology, cultural anthropology, and physical (biological) anthropology.
The Department of Anthropology at Wake Forest includes all four subfields, as well as a focus on the practical application of the knowledge we generate in solving real world problems, known as applied anthropology.
WFU Anthropology on Facebook
Last week, Dr. Sherri Lawson Clark was featured in this WFDD news story on Displaced in America, a year-long project focusing on eviction and mortgage foreclosures in Forsyth County. Listen, or read more below!
"Wake Forest University anthropology professor Sherri Lawson Clark contributed to the study. She says, in reviewing their list of recommendations, one statistic stood out: addressing a shortage of some 16,000 units of affordable housing.
“And it was even more specific,” she says. “It was 16,244. So, I remember highlighting that in the report. And then later I read that there are 6,000 vacant properties in East Winston.”
Lawson Clark says she plans on looking into the fate of those vacant properties in a future research project, but the current report is raising a broader awareness of the city’s shortcomings: Winston-Salem is a highly racially segregated, and residentially segregated city she says, even when it comes to the poor and the non-poor.
“And so, what happens is you have sort of this barrier — many people will argue that it’s Highway 52 that creates that divide — and when we look at who lives east and who lives west and what’s happening there, this New America data also supports those findings,” says Lawson Clark."
New Study Analyzes Soaring Home Displacement Rates In Forsyth County
www.wfdd.org
Over the past decade, Forsyth County has made some unflattering national news. A 2015 Harvard University study revealed its status as having the third-worst economic mobility in the United States.Wildfire Archaeology and the Burning American West
Archaeologists in New Mexico are pioneering surprising research methods—involving tree rings, pottery, and blasts of light—to explain why wildfire suppression doesn’t work.
www.sapiens.org/column/curiosities/wildfire-archaeology/
RIP, David Graeber
David Graeber, Caustic Critic of Inequality, Is Dead at 59
www.nytimes.com
He wrote about crushing debt, pointless jobs and the negative effects of globalization. And he played a leading role in the Occupy Wall Street movement.Department News
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Displaced in Forsyth County: Economic Mobility, Concentrated Poverty & Home Loss Webinar
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Anthropology Alumni – Jack Portman – Featured in New American Weekly
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A Statement of Solidarity
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WFU Anthropology Department Outstanding Senior, 2020: Juliana Rubinatto Serrano
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Matthew Capps, 2020 Anthropology Major, Featured in WFU’s Old Gold & Black
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2020 Fall Course Bulletin
